Why Investment Management?

Aside from two unsolicited interrogations by a couple overbearing fellow students (what is with the unprompted peer mock interviews?), I never had to give my 'why investment management' spiel during recruiting. Frankly, I think it's a stupid question anyway* and seems to be directed more often at career changers.

I had been curious about the stock market since I was a youngin but didn't realize it was a viable career until mid-way through college. And I just plugged along in the industry ever since. Bad days, I feel like it's a meaningless, boring and luck laden way to make a living. Good days (and days when I learn about what other people do) I know I couldn't do anything else.

• I don't like to make things, I like to think things.
• Not Excel? Not interested.
• Brains beats brawn, charm, fashion, politicking, persuasion, pedigree (in my perfect world).
• I hate golf.
• I'm happy to disagree.
• I want to know how the world works.
• Bullet points preferred.
• Buy. Sell. All else is irrelevant.
• No meetings, team building or consensus decision making please.
• I prefer my coworkers frank and concise and don't mind a little swearing in the process.

For those of you deciding which direction to go, not sure that this really helps all that much. Everyone has her own reasons (hence why 'why IM' is a pointless interview question). But that's concise take on it.

*What's important is that the interviewee is an intelligent, competent, likeable human being - who cares what her motivations/reasons are? Presumably if someone is smart enough to make it through a top MBA program, he is smart enough to figure out what he wants to do with his life.